Memorial Day Remembrance & Ghost Walk
An annual event held in collaboration with American Legion Post #59
Ghost Walk 2026
Hope Cemetery, May 25 - To honor America’s 250th Anniversary, this year’s Ghost Walk explored the key themes of We the People and American Experiment by focusing on veterans who fought in the Revolutionary War and are buried in Waterbury.
See the full list of Revolutionary War veterans and the cemeteries in which they are buried:
Ghost Walk 2022
On a very beautiful Memorial Day a number of people turned out to remember those who have gone before.
Wayne Goulet and the American Legion opened the service with the honor guard, firing squad and the laying of a wreath.
Jack Semprebon was the guest speaker for the day and with permission his talk is printed in it's entirety below.
Jack is 12 years old and attends the Bishop John A Marshall School in Morrisville. He has a lot of interests in various sports. The Waterbury Historical Society is pleased that he agreed to be part of the Memorial Day service.
Following the events led by the American Legion the crowd moved over to the railroad station for a presentation by the Historical Society of small and forgotten cemeteries in Waterbury.
Amy Kinsell spoke of the Johnson Cemetery which is located on the old Johnson Farm and accessed by following a path south of the Waterbury Ice Center. There are 33 recorded burials at this site.
Brian Lindner spoke about the cemeteries on Ricker Mountain with pictures of some of the grown up burial sites on the mountain. With the building of the Waterbury Dam the community ceased to exist.
Lawrence Dennis shared the story of the Demeritt Cemetery located on private land on Blush Hill. There are 11 people buried there.
Skip Flanders presented a computer program of pictures of the Vermont State Hospital burial grounds that were used from 1891-1912. Located by going under the underpass near the Ice Center and proceeding up the hill a short distance. In 1991 Father Logue dedicated the memorial stone and site.
Many thanks to Jan Gendreau for all her efforts in creating, implementing and coordinating with the American Legion this Memorial Day Cemetery Walk for the Waterbury Historical Society.
Thank you Jan.